This invention relates to a flexible board attaching-connecting device in an electronic equipment such as a portable telephone and a wireless device, and more particularly to a structure in which a case assembly, incorporating a flexible board, is dropped onto a printed circuit board from an upper side, thereby electrically connecting contacts, formed on the flexible board, to vertical, spring-type contacts of a connector mounted on the printed circuit board.
There is known a conventional flexible board attaching-connecting device as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. As shown in FIG. 5, in the conventional flexible board attaching-connecting device, a flexible board 12 is mounted on a case 11, and a connector portion, extending from the flexible board 12, is bent and inserted into a flexible board connector 13 on a printed circuit board 14 with which the case 11 is mated, and in this manner the connector portion is attached and connected to the connector 13. This will be more specifically described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. FIG. 6A shows a condition immediately before the extended connector portion of the flexible board 12 is attached and connected to the flexible board connector 13 having a lever. FIG. 6B shows a condition in which the extended connector portion of the flexible board 12 is inserted into the flexible board connector 13, having the lever, and is completely attached and connected to this connector 13 by rotating the lever 15. Such a construction is disclosed, for example, in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 10-126070.
In the above conventional flexible board attaching-connecting device, the connector portion, extending from the flexible board, is bent and inserted into the flexible board connector, and therefore there have been encountered problems that the flexible board need to have an extra length (area) for attaching and connecting purposes, and that the step of bending the flexible board, the step of inserting the connector portion into the flexible board connector and the step of locking the connector portion by the lever are needed.
This invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a flexible board attaching-connecting device in which a case assembly is dropped onto a board assembly from an upper side to thereby attach and connect a flexible board to a printed circuit board, thus providing the flexible board attaching-connecting device which is inexpensive, and has a good assembling efficiency and a high connection reliability.
According to the present invention, there is provided a flexible board attaching-connecting device CHARACTERIZED by the provision of a case assembly formed by incorporating a flexible board in a case; a board assembly formed by mounting a flexible board connector on a printed circuit board; and attaching-connecting means by which an attaching-connecting operation can be completed merely by dropping the case assembly onto the board assembly from an upper side.
With this construction, there can be provided the flexible board attaching-connecting device in which the efficiency of the assembling operation is enhanced, and the reliability is enhanced, and the cost can be reduced.
The invention of aspect 1 is directed to a flexible board attaching-connecting device CHARACTERIZED by the provision of a case assembly formed by incorporating a flexible board in a case; a board assembly formed by mounting a flexible board connector on a printed circuit board; and attaching-connecting means by which an attaching-connecting operation can be completed merely by dropping the case assembly onto the board assembly from an upper side. Therefore, the flexible board can be brought into contact with the flexible board connector merely by dropping the case assembly from the upper side.
In the flexible board attaching-connecting device of the invention of aspect 2 depending from aspect 1, the flexible board connector includes first positioning bosses, which are adapted to be respectively inserted in and positioned relative to positioning holes in the printed circuit board, and second positioning bosses which are adapted to pass through the flexible board and further to be respectively inserted in and positioned relative to positioning holes in the case. Therefore, the contact member and the member to be contacted are directly positioned, and therefore the connection reliability is enhanced.
In the flexible board attaching-connecting device of the invention of aspect 3 depending from aspect 1 or aspect 2, the flexible board connector includes vertically extending spring-type contacts. Therefore, tolerances in the direction of the thickness (in the upward-downward direction) can be absorbed by the spring-type contacts.
In the flexible board attaching-connecting device of the invention of aspect 4 depending from any one of aspects 1 to 3, a connector portion of the case has a flat portion, and the flexible board is held against the flat portion, thereby preventing the flexible board from being deformed by a reaction force from the spring-type contacts. Therefore, the tolerances in the direction of the thickness (in the upward-downward direction) can be absorbed by the spring-type contacts, and besides the deformation due to the reaction force of the spring-type contacts can be prevented.